A conventionally known drive device for an electric vehicle of an in-wheel motor type is made up of an electric motor, a speed reduction unit to which the output of the electric motor is inputted, and a hub unit which is rotationally driven by the speed-reduced output of the speed reduction unit (Patent Literature 1).
In the drive device for an electric vehicle disclosed in Patent Literature 1, an electric motor is disposed outside the speed reduction unit in the radial direction, and the speed reduction unit in which planetary gear-type units are disposed in two stages in the axial direction is used.
The input shaft of the speed reduction unit is supported by hub bearings constituted by bearings disposed at two locations in the axial direction. Of these bearings, the inboard-side bearing is attached to a housing of the speed reduction unit, and the outboard-side bearing is attached to the output member of the speed reduction unit. The housing is supported by the vehicle body via the suspension, and the output member is coupled and integrated with an inner member of the hub unit to rotationally drive the vehicle wheel.
In the drive device for an electric vehicle of the above-described configuration, the radial load acting on the input shaft of the speed reduction unit is supported by the housing via the inboard-side bearing on the inboard side, and is supported by the output member of the speed reduction unit via the outboard-side bearing on the outboard side.